Background:In December 2019, a new coronavirus (nCoV) emerged as a public health
concern spreading all around the world. Several attempts have been made to discover effective drugs
and vaccines. Up to now, multiple COVID-19 vaccines have been developed against this mysterious
virus, and a lot of individuals have already got vaccinated.Objective:Anti-viral drugs are effective in treating and managing COVID-19. Nucleoside reverse transcriptase
inhibitors (NRTIs) are a collection of antiviral drugs for treating HIV and HBV infections.
These drugs prevent virus replication by blocking reverse transcriptase (RT). In this review, we discuss
the interaction of this class of anti- HIV drugs with specific functional proteins and enzymes of SARSCoV-
2.Method:A search of the databases, including Web of Science, Embase, PubMed, Scopus, and Google
Scholar, was conducted from commencement to September 2020. The relevant articles on the potential
effects of NRTIs on COVID-19 were collected. Finally, twenty-three articles were selected, including
all in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies.Result:It was observed that RdRp, spike, ACE2, PNP, inflammatory cytokines, and nucleocapsid
protein participate in the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2. NRTIs target these proteins by binding to
them.Conclusion:This review is focused on the mechanisms of NRTIs to introduce them as potential therapies
for COVID-19. However, further in vitro and in vivo investigations will provide helpful information
for the identification of drug candidates as a part of COVID-19 management.